Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Price Target Cut to $46.50

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $54.50 to $46.50 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 3.91% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SQM. StockNews.com downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $62.80 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $64.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.18.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SQM traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.75. 382,181 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,419,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.71. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 1 year low of $38.50 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a net margin of 26.95% and a return on equity of 37.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,794,000. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 2,643,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $157,712,000 after purchasing an additional 119,695 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 73,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,402,000 after purchasing an additional 12,759 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,992,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,387,000 after purchasing an additional 172,908 shares during the period. Finally, Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. now owns 153,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,134,000 after purchasing an additional 75,849 shares during the period. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers.